reviews

A cure for the hurried pace of the time is a pretty easy fix for Anthony Wayne as he splits himself in half on “It is What It is”. The songman scatters chord strums to fill “Twenty Pews”, uses the guitar to define the rhythms leading into “Sort of Evening”, and snaps an image of an ‘empty pack of Marlboros’ to show-and-tell the isolation of “Spend Our Days”. The songs are from Bury Who We Are, the recent release from Anthony Wayne, the Earth by Train frontman taking a step into a solo effort with the album. Bury Who We Are stretches out the words and music on the recording, the moods and melodies tumbling together to the blood flowing into the emotions of the tales.

The songs on of Bury Who We Are use personal experience as inspiration for hurdles, happiness, and pitfalls of life as Anthon Wayne tumbles into memories to finetune his filter for friends in “Messages Meant for Me”, second guesses a second chance for “All Away”, and chips at indecision with pounding percussion in “Unravel My Soul”. An enthusiasm for carrying the message is a key ingredient for the encouragement in the words. Not set on any defined agenda, Anthon Wayne believes in the magic of the moment, seeing the performance experience as ‘the spontaneity keeps it loose. I love the idea of unifying an audience and giving them something to believe in. I want people to leave thinking they can take on a mountain and win’. A thick bassline sets the goals for “One to Prove” while Anthony Wayne hushes the soundtracking confessional promises of “I Will Rise”.

For a farmer, Boris McCutcheon has done a lot of traveling. Born in Massachusetts, Boris grew up on farms, His journey away from working the land gave him an opportunity to view more territory, and he fell in love with the New Mexico landscape when the highway brought him through the American Southwest. Boris McCutcheon began studies in organic farming in 1992, attending University of California Santa Cruz Farm and Garden program, relocating to Santa Fe in 1996 and opening a landscaping business. Music was an equal piece of passion for Boris McCutcheon, and at urging of a musical acquaintance, he began a band and returned to New England in 1999, looking to Boston to begin his musical career. I’m Here, Let Me In is the recent release from Boris McCutcheon, its songs audio snapshots of the life around him, the scenes both current (“A Week Before the 4th of July”) and visions into the future (“I Blew It”).

Farming and music came together for Boris McCutcheon when he moved to an off-the-grid farm in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains where he and his wife raised crops and a family as Boris wrote songs.I’m Here, Let Me In is rugged Roots music, touched by Folk and Americana, the rhythms a scratchy shuffle in “Lazy with You”, Country Folk in the bright strums of “Golden Days”, and desert campfire Folk songs “Godzilla vs. King Kong” as “Magpies” flies on a Bluesy ramble that keeps the mood well for the late-night Blues noir of “Shake It Up”. The songs of Boris McCutcheon digs Roots deep into the American musical landscape as I’m Here, Let Me In rides a rock’n’roll beat down “Cherry Lane” and dances out a groove for the woman boogieing into “It’s Her Turn Now” to receive a well-deserved thank you.

​True North (from the album Open Road, Broken Heart)True North have found a cure for the album title for their recent release, Open Road, Broken Heart. The Pacific Northwest-based band find a parking spot to enter “Dark Horse Bar & Grill” and spin slowly on the barstool for the sad Country tale. Open Road, Broken Heart boards a greyhound bus in a wedding dress on the opening cut (“One-Way Ticket”) as the lovers left behind view departing taillights as leaving while those on the highway hear the hum of freedom from the tires. The stories on Open Road, Broken Heart has a common path for its cast of characters, all of whom are on the move whether they walk into lucky breaks or fortify their respective spirits to find the courage to head for the exit door.

Taking a shot of “Mighty Bourbon”, True North find themselves in morning-after county jail as their strums usher in mental ghosts with “Sunday Night Blues” and they scatter “Small Wonders” on a rapid banjo-fueled melody. Open Road, Broken Heart does the math for a final goodbye in “Ratio of Angels to Demons” as it turns “The Eye” towards old friends and past love and steps around sharp-angled rhythms for “I’m Gone” while True North match the male/female dual vocals of the band to twin guitar lines in “Wilder Than Her” and watch the earth spin seasons in “Seed, Leaf, Flowers, Seed”.

​Hot Texas Swing Band (from the album Off the Beaten Trail)On album number four, Off the Beaten Trail, Hot Texas Swing Band continue to curate and ride range over the vast expanse of western swing music as they keep a flame burning for traditions heard in the music of torchbearers Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and Asleep at the Wheel. Off the Beaten Trail leads its tunes outside the borders of the sound of western swing as the album takes a trip into New Orleans with “Baton Rouge Waltz”, uses a honky tonk rhythm to heat up “Snow in Amarillo”, brings tits own style of Jazz back to the big band beat for “I Hear You Talkin’”, and turns the lights low for the after-hours Blues of “Cry Me a River”.

As the musical changes merge seamlessly on Off the Beaten Trail, the guiding tones of Hot Texas Swing Band stay true to the mix of Cowboy music and Swing. The band picks up the pace as it heads for open range with “Texas Plains”, lets the players take center stage for the instrumental whimsy of “Bull Whip”, slows to a trot for “My Blue Guitar”, and shimmies on a Latin groove for “This Time”. Off the Beaten Trail steps to a Waltz rhythm for “Headed Back to the Barn” as Hot Texas Swing Band light a fire to toast “White Lightnin’” and take a hit of loco weed to bounce into “Cow Cow Boogie”.

Sue Quigley (from the album Little Wildernesses)Recorded at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington, Sue Quigley surrounded herself with a powerhouse of local talent for Little Wildernesses, her recent release. Art became life when Sue Quigley began writing songs about getting out of town and living a different life in her Eastern Washington state bedroom. She wandered, working as a fire fighter throughout the western United States, picking up the guitar for open mic nights once she settled in Seattle.

Decisions find themselves shifting when signals disappear like smoke as Sue Quigley makes her way into the person she is as well as the human she wants to be, opening Little Wildernesses on the title track. Jagged notes take form to become a western ramble when “Outlaws” wanders into Little Wildernesses while “Rescuer” picks up the rhythmic pace, slowly trudges over an earthbound beat to give wings to “Birds”, and walks the different paths of happiness as it questions direction for “Long Run”. There is a wisdom in the words of Sue Quigley as she delivers her stories in a deep resonance that rings in a confidence that breeds trust in the tales. Little Wildernesses listens to the earth breathe as the sound of nature calls out in “Lake Song” while Sue Quigley watches “Oxygen” look for a way out and confides “Sometimes I Forget” to the strong current guiding her.